1988 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania
← 1984 November 8, 1988 1992 →
 
Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Texas Massachusetts
Running mate Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen
Electoral vote 25 0
Popular vote 2,300,087 2,194,944
Percentage 50.70% 48.39%
County Results
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Ronald Reagan
Republican

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George H. W. Bush
Republican

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The 1988 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 8, 1988, and was part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Voters chose 25 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Pennsylvania voted for the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush, over the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis. Bush won Pennsylvania by a narrow margin of 2.31%, which made it about 5.5% more Democratic than the nation. This was the last election where Pennsylvania would be carried by a Republican presidential candidate until 2016 and the last to date in which a Republican would win a majority of the statewide vote. Northampton and Luzerne counties, both statewide bellwethers, would also not vote Republican again until 2016.[1] This was also the first election since 1932 where Pennsylvania did not vote the same as neighboring New York, another phenomenon that would not occur again until 2016.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last election in which Lehigh County or the Greater Philadelphia suburban counties of Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware have voted Republican at the presidential level.[1] This is also the last time a Republican won a majority in Monroe County or Northampton County, although Monroe would be won with pluralities by the Republicans until 2008 and Donald Trump would win Northampton by plurality in 2016. Bush became the only Republican to date to win the White House without carrying Indiana County, and the only one to do so without carrying Clinton County since Benjamin Harrison in 1888.

Primaries

Republican primary

Candidate Votes Percent
George H. W. Bush 687,323 78.95%
Bob Dole 103,763 11.92%
Pat Robertson 79,463 9.13%
Totals 870,549 Turnout: 38.18%

Democratic primary

Candidate Votes Percent
Michael Dukakis 1,002,480 66.49%
Jesse Jackson 411,260 27.28%
Al Gore 44,542 2.95%
Others 49,408 3.28%
Totals 1,507,690 Turnout: 52.93%

Results

1988 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania[2]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican George H. W. Bush 2,300,087 50.70% 25
Democratic Michael Dukakis 2,194,944 48.39% 0
Consumer Eugene McCarthy 19,158 0.42% 0
Libertarian Ron Paul 12,051 0.27% 0
New Alliance Lenora Fulani 4,379 0.10% 0
America First David Duke 3,444 0.08% 0
Workers' League Edward Winn 2,188 0.05% 0
Totals 4,536,251 100.00% 25

Results by county

County George Herbert Walker Bush
Republican 		Michael Stanley Dukakis
Democratic 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Adams 15,650 64.92% 8,299 34.43% 156 0.65% 7,351 30.50% 24,105
Allegheny 231,137 39.43% 348,814 59.51% 6,200 1.06% -117,677 -20.08% 586,151
Armstrong 11,509 44.81% 13,892 54.09% 282 1.10% -2,383 -9.28% 25,683
Beaver 25,764 33.69% 50,327 65.81% 378 0.49% -24,563 -32.12% 76,469
Bedford 11,123 65.55% 5,754 33.91% 92 0.54% 5,369 31.64% 16,969
Berks 70,153 62.39% 41,040 36.50% 1,251 1.11% 29,113 25.89% 112,444
Blair 25,623 61.50% 15,588 37.42% 451 1.08% 10,035 24.09% 41,662
Bradford 13,568 66.72% 6,635 32.63% 134 0.66% 6,933 34.09% 20,337
Bucks 127,563 59.99% 82,472 38.78% 2,605 1.23% 45,091 21.21% 212,640
Butler 27,777 54.82% 22,341 44.09% 549 1.08% 5,436 10.73% 50,667
Cambria 25,626 39.70% 38,517 59.67% 409 0.63% -12,891 -19.97% 64,552
Cameron 1,731 65.20% 901 33.94% 23 0.87% 830 31.26% 2,655
Carbon 10,232 52.35% 9,104 46.57% 211 1.08% 1,128 5.77% 19,547
Centre 23,875 56.14% 18,357 43.17% 295 0.69% 5,518 12.98% 42,527
Chester 93,522 67.00% 44,853 32.13% 1,210 0.87% 48,669 34.87% 139,585
Clarion 8,026 58.37% 5,616 40.84% 109 0.79% 2,410 17.53% 13,751
Clearfield 14,296 53.52% 12,235 45.80% 182 0.68% 2,061 7.72% 26,713
Clinton 5,735 49.38% 5,759 49.59% 119 1.02% -24 -0.21% 11,613
Columbia 12,114 60.51% 7,767 38.79% 140 0.70% 4,347 21.71% 20,021
Crawford 17,249 56.32% 13,021 42.51% 358 1.17% 4,228 13.80% 30,628
Cumberland 47,292 65.29% 24,613 33.98% 528 0.73% 22,679 31.31% 72,433
Dauphin 48,917 57.77% 35,079 41.43% 681 0.80% 13,838 16.34% 84,677
Delaware 147,656 59.95% 96,144 39.03% 2,505 1.02% 51,512 20.91% 246,305
Elk 6,737 52.86% 5,879 46.13% 128 1.00% 858 6.73% 12,744
Erie 48,306 46.76% 53,913 52.19% 1,081 1.05% -5,607 -5.43% 103,300
Fayette 16,915 33.60% 33,098 65.74% 336 0.67% -16,183 -32.14% 50,349
Forest 1,159 56.13% 895 43.34% 11 0.53% 264 12.78% 2,065
Franklin 27,086 68.32% 12,368 31.20% 190 0.48% 14,718 37.13% 39,644
Fulton 3,086 66.42% 1,532 32.97% 28 0.60% 1,554 33.45% 4,646
Greene 4,879 34.62% 9,126 64.75% 90 0.64% -4,247 -30.13% 14,095
Huntingdon 8,800 64.56% 4,752 34.86% 79 0.58% 4,048 29.70% 13,631
Indiana 14,983 47.21% 16,514 52.03% 242 0.76% -1,531 -4.82% 31,739
Jefferson 9,743 60.48% 6,235 38.71% 131 0.81% 3,508 21.78% 16,109
Juniata 4,881 62.87% 2,834 36.50% 49 0.63% 2,047 26.37% 7,764
Lackawanna 42,083 47.42% 45,591 51.38% 1,067 1.20% -3,508 -3.95% 88,741
Lancaster 96,979 70.77% 38,982 28.45% 1,068 0.78% 57,997 42.32% 137,029
Lawrence 15,829 41.76% 21,884 57.74% 191 0.50% -6,055 -15.97% 37,904
Lebanon 24,415 66.69% 11,912 32.54% 281 0.77% 12,503 34.15% 36,608
Lehigh 56,363 56.30% 42,801 42.76% 943 0.94% 13,562 13.55% 100,107
Luzerne 59,059 50.01% 58,553 49.58% 480 0.41% 506 0.43% 118,092
Lycoming 24,792 64.00% 13,528 34.92% 415 1.07% 11,264 29.08% 38,735
McKean 9,323 63.22% 5,300 35.94% 124 0.84% 4,023 27.28% 14,747
Mercer 21,301 46.43% 24,278 52.92% 301 0.66% -2,977 -6.49% 45,880
Mifflin 8,170 62.49% 4,790 36.63% 115 0.88% 3,380 25.85% 13,075
Monroe 17,185 62.79% 9,859 36.02% 327 1.19% 7,326 26.77% 27,371
Montgomery 170,294 60.20% 109,834 38.83% 2,742 0.97% 60,460 21.37% 282,870
Montour 3,617 63.50% 2,031 35.66% 48 0.84% 1,586 27.84% 5,696
Northampton 42,748 51.52% 39,264 47.32% 966 1.16% 3,484 4.20% 82,978
Northumberland 20,207 58.07% 14,255 40.96% 338 0.97% 5,952 17.10% 34,800
Perry 8,545 68.18% 3,910 31.20% 78 0.62% 4,635 36.98% 12,533
Philadelphia 219,053 32.45% 449,566 66.60% 6,358 0.94% -230,513 -34.15% 674,977
Pike 6,659 67.15% 3,097 31.23% 161 1.62% 3,562 35.92% 9,917
Potter 4,432 67.23% 2,119 32.15% 41 0.62% 2,313 35.09% 6,592
Schuylkill 32,666 56.47% 24,797 42.87% 379 0.66% 7,869 13.60% 57,842
Snyder 9,054 76.87% 2,658 22.57% 67 0.57% 6,396 54.30% 11,779
Somerset 16,809 54.63% 13,815 44.90% 144 0.47% 2,994 9.73% 30,768
Sullivan 1,808 61.88% 1,091 37.34% 23 0.79% 717 24.54% 2,922
Susquehanna 9,077 64.58% 4,871 34.65% 108 0.77% 4,206 29.92% 14,056
Tioga 9,471 66.00% 4,807 33.50% 72 0.50% 4,664 32.50% 14,350
Union 7,912 71.05% 3,163 28.40% 61 0.55% 4,749 42.65% 11,136
Venango 11,468 56.60% 8,624 42.56% 171 0.84% 2,844 14.04% 20,263
Warren 8,991 56.21% 6,790 42.45% 214 1.34% 2,201 13.76% 15,995
Washington 28,651 37.43% 47,527 62.08% 375 0.49% -18,876 -24.66% 76,553
Wayne 9,926 71.61% 3,775 27.23% 161 1.16% 6,151 44.37% 13,862
Westmoreland 61,472 44.13% 76,710 55.07% 1,108 0.80% -15,238 -10.94% 139,290
Wyoming 6,607 69.94% 2,797 29.61% 43 0.46% 3,810 40.33% 9,447
York 72,408 65.16% 37,691 33.92% 1,017 0.92% 34,717 31.24% 111,116
Totals 2,300,087 50.70% 2,194,944 48.39% 41,220 0.91% 105,143 2.32% 4,536,251

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  2. ^ David Leip. "1988 Presidential General Election Results – Pennsylvania". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
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